Introduction

We were made for deep relationships characterized by the deepest kind of love. In the beginning, before sin tainted the world, God singled out one thing that was not good in His creation – Adam was alone without a companion. We cannot live without stable and healthy relationships. Children cannot thrive without stable parents; a marriage cannot survive when two people drift apart; it can feel like death and can leave to death sometimes. This is how God created us; we grow, mature, and flourish as healthy Christians and a healthy Church in relationship.

Paul’s letter to the Philippians reflects a deep kind of friendship and relationship between Paul and the Philippian church, such that scholars believe Paul had a closer relationship with the Philippian church than the other churches. In today’s text, Paul reconnects and rejoices over what he heard about them.

When we look at Paul’s letter to the Philippians, it is quite evident that this letter reflects a very deep, deep kind of friendship between Paul and the Philippians. Scholars say that Paul and the Philippians were closer in relationship than any other church had with Paul. Paul’s greeting reveals more than a simple greeting that a surface reading may suggest. Paul teaches us how to have the deep and genuine relationship that God intended for us by focusing on two things: (1) Paul’s greeting to understand his relationship with the Philippian church and (2) Their Partnership in the Gospel.

Introduction

Giving thanks is a prominent theme in the Psalms, but Psalm 100 is the only psalm that is specifically titled as a psalm of giving thanks. The psalmist speaks of an invitation to all of creation to exhort, to praise, and to bless the Lord. He shows us what God is like and who God is as our Creator and our Father. Afterall, how can we be thankful if we don’t know who God is and what God is like in His nature.

There are THREE intrinsic reasons to thank and praise God:

Guest speaker Pastor John Park speaks about Compassion (Canada) and about God’s heart for children around the world, especially those living in poverty.

Introduction – Part 1 and 2 recap:

            The Lord’s Prayer is a framework of Christian life that is consistent with the Kingdom of Heaven. We must internalize this prayer deep in our hearts by understanding what Jesus is teaching us through all the parts of this prayer: (1) “Our father in heaven” is about intimacy with God who is a loving and compassionate Father; (2) “hallowed be your name” is about the tension/balance we hold towards God as an intimate and loving father but also a most holy God; (3) “your kingdom come your will be done on Earth as it is in heaven” is about manifesting the things of Heaven on the Earth below as part of God’s justice; (4) “Give us this day our daily bread” is about trusting and relying on the efficiency and sufficiency of God as our daily source and provider; (5) “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors (alt: “… trespasses as we have forgiven those who have trespassed against us”) reflects God’s grace and the need to be forgiven and to forgive others. Our love for God cannot be disconnected from our love for others.

Introduction

The Apostle Paul writes to the church in Colossae who received the Gospel well, but Paul is concerned about news of the church being distracted and deceived by outside factors such as philosophy, ascetism, and self/made religion (religious practices). Likewise, we too are distracted from Christ by many things in the world that are attractive to us every day. This is especially true for us who live in a world that promotes the idea of “be a better version of yourself.” The world offers many things promising that you will be a better person, but the Apostle Paul says, “but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.” (Col. 2:23b)

Introduction:

Introduction – Recap of pt.1

If you want to understand what it means to be a follower of Jesus and to live like Jesus, you need to learn how to pray like Jesus. Last week, we looked at the first two portions of the Lord’s Prayer: "Our Father in heaven”, “Hallowed be your name.” They speak of our personal, communal, and intimate relationship with a holy God who desires to embrace us with compassion, mercy, love, and forgiveness. How we pray will reveal if the desire of our heart is to hallow God’s name or hallow our own name.

Introduction:

Jesus teaches his disciples to pray, which we know as The Lord’s Prayer, but a piece is missing from Matthew which is found in Luke Ch. 11 where it is more flushed out.

Pastor John shares a previous experience where he was pastoring a youth community where he did not feel belonging or accepted by the members. He drives home the difference that openness and acceptance plays in the midst of people seeking to connect with one another, and the simple impact of hospitality in inviting others to sit with us.

To be on mission requires a particular posture; a particular disposition. For all that we do flows from the heart (Prov 4:23). As we learn more about God in our walk with Him, we'll see that our heart is often not God's heart towards the world.

Many of us don't actively keep a missional imagination at the forefront of our eyes. One possible reason is because we limit, when and where God's mission and activity takes place to the walls of the church - a kind of Temple spirituality.

1. What is God inviting us into with His plans?

2. How can we participate with Him?

All of us will face and experience disappointment at some point in our lives. Whether it is with our family situation, our health, in relationships, in career, or any other area - we face disappointment when the expectations of our reality do not match up to our vision for our future.

As we wrap up the series on the ‘Heart Detox’, we look into what defines our identity in the everyday. In order to discover where our identity and purpose flows from, we need to go back to the beginning. We don’t begin with ourselves, but we begin with God; after all, He is the Creator (Gen 1:1-2) and the beginning of all things - the Alpha and the Omega (Rev 1:8), including our own existence.

This week, we dive into exploring the the tension of having been forgiven by God and our response in forgiving others in love and Christ-likeness. In our passage, both servants were forgiven an immense amount of debt relative to their position - unthinkable in those times. We will look into the similarities of the weight of our sins before God and why a willingness to forgive is characteristic of those who have been saved by the Lord.

We take a break from our series on ‘The Heart Detox’ to examine another part of our heart we ought to offer up to God: our thoughts, feelings, and desires that surface as we discern a major decision in our life. The art of discernment isn’t an easy skill but is one that as we sharpen and refine it, aids how we come to delight in grasping and living out His good and perfect will for us.

Though the church may often focus on and explore topics of theology, prayer, solitude, etc. - the intersection of sexuality and spirituality is often spoken about in hushed tones. In today’s sermon, we’ll look at Part 1 of examining engrained assumptions we may hold on the topic of sexual sins and how to broaden our understanding of a life of sexual wholeness.

A life of transformation in Christ is oft accompanied by many facets of change by the power of Christ. You might think the issue of self-centredness is the worst of them all; or the sin of gluttony and self-indulgence; or the love of self-pity and self-condemnation. Across many bible scholars, underlying the manifestation of all these sins lies the ultimate sin of a justified love of oneself: pride.

As we grow to know God more and more, we come to know Him as a good Father who wants to give us every spiritual blessing (ref). More than just a good or perfect job, a good or caring spouse, or a good and easy life, His gift of spiritual blessing for us is greater than a life without worry or pain. Inevitably there will be a disconnect in receiving His blessing and living a comfortable life reflecting the truth that He is good. What does it take to be like the drink offering from the olden days, an offering given under circumstances of great passion and fervour for the Lord continuously (v17)?

In today’s passage, we will look into how Nehemiah remained faithful with his vision and calling from God as he faced internal conflicts.

How do you go about discerning God’s will? Our life is filled with decisions. What are some of the questions you are currently facing?

Though some may debate whether the story of Job actually took place, we can see that Job is referenced in both the New Testament and Old Testament more than once. Job embodied many great qualities before God on a continual basis: he was righteous, devoted, deeply spiritual, and truly loved God through his actions. Though Job was declared righteous by God Himself, he experienced deep pain and calamity. He faced loss in many areas of his life: family, wealth, property, belongings, health, etc. Some may say without reason, Job succumbed enduring the lowest of lows. When we look at Job’s life, we may ask how can our God let suffering happen to obedient, humble, and good people?